“I like to have training camp together with my sister because nobody is distracted,” Shevchenko said. “Everybody has the same mindset, and the schedule is the same. My sister doesn’t diet like I do, because sometimes she’s just eating chocolates during training camp. But the mindset is the same. The energy at home is the same. Everybody is focused.”
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The 36-year-old is full steam ahead in her flyweight matchup with emerging talent Casey O’Neill at UFC Fight Night: Santos vs Walker. Shevchenko wants to show that she is a better fighter than she was in her previous fight with Andrea Lee at UFC 262, where she was submitted via armbar.
Shevchenko isn’t fazed by the hype that is surrounding O’Neill, who steps into the Octagon with a perfect 7-0 pro record that includes finishes of Shana Dobson and Lara Procópio in her first two UFC bouts.
“She’s definitely a motivated fighter and has two victories in the UFC, that’s what brought her more motivation,” Shevchenko said. “She’s all about making a statement or something like that. You can understand her mindset and everything else, but I don’t care about her, I care about me. I’m a fighter who is motivated to get a victory after having a loss.”
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For a brief period, the two trained at Tiger Muay Thai; however, they didn’t practice together much.
“It was probably a couple practices that we did together,” Shevchenko said. “It was more exercises. We didn’t do any real sparring to try each other. I was training with my coach, and she was training with other coaches at Tiger Muay Thai. We were at the same time there, we saw each other. I cannot say I know her as a fighter.”